Fright night at Hull? A ghoulish display on Halloween? Not a chance, as Middlesbrough racked up back-to-back away victories and maintained their Championship momentum.

It was comprehensive. It was ruthless, in the first half at least. And for long periods it was surprisingly simple - a rarity in these parts. Boro had been beaten on each of their last four visits to the KCOM Stadium.

Just six months have passed since the galling 4-2 defeat which marked one of the lowest points of Boro's Premier League campaign. Any hope was extinguished on Humberside that night.

But fortunes reversed this time around. It was Boro who left victorious, a side galvanised and who are starting to believe in themselves again.

There was a professionalism about the display, another promising indication that Garry Monk is finally starting to mould a talented group of players into a combative, cohesive unit.

And Boro are now outside of the play-off places on goal difference alone. They are the side in-form, and with Sunderland heading to the Riverside on Sunday, opportunity knocks.

It was a night when things seemed to click. It was a night when Boro flexed their muscles again. And it was a night when fans headed back home with a smile on their faces.

A toxic atmosphere which Boro capitalised on

There was an eery hush around the KCOM Stadium in the minutes before kick-off, the first sign that all was not well on Humberside.

The Tigers' home game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday was marred by fans' protests against the club's ownership, with thousands of yellow balls thrown onto the pitch.

This time it was thousands of empty seats on view in an atmosphere of extremes - from relative silence to loud booing and chants of 'we want Allam out'.

Boro have played in toxic conditions before - the game at Charlton back in March 2016 springs to mind - but they handled it with ease this time around. In fact, they used it to their advantage.

Less than a minute was on the clock before Martin Braithwaite - put on standby by the Denmark national side for October's World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland - found acres of space and stuck the ball in the net, but the offside flag thwarted him.

It wasn't to matter. Boro looked confident and composed from the outset, winning virtually every 50/50 and squeezing the life out of their lacklustre opponents.

The ruthlessness showed three days earlier at Reading was evident again. Boro spotted their opponents' weakness and mercilessly exposed it.

There were a couple of early scares. Jackson Irvine's theatrical tumble under the challenge of Daniel Ayala brought momentary concern before referee Tim Robinson waved away the penalty protests, while Darren Randolph then parried a venomous Irvine effort.

But Fabio - forced off through injury and replaced by George Friend just moments later - was in the right place to hack clear.

It set the tone for the half. Every Boro player seemed to understand their roles - and carried their instructions out to the letter.

And then we heard it. Click - that beautiful noise that we've been waiting to hear ever since August. Boro started to hurtle through the gears.

Braithwaite did get his goal on 13 minutes, pouncing on a loose ball at the edge of the box before shifting quickly to his right, and the finish that followed screamed class.

It was emphatic - a drilled effort low back across Allan McGregor and into the far corner. Monk could afford himself a smile - Boro had lift-off.

As Boro's dominance grew, so did the home fans' infuriation - and Hull's players looked rattled. Every 50/50 fell the Teessiders' way, with Ben Gibson and Grant Leadbitter vocal as ever in talking their teammates through the game.

Centre-back Michael Hector's wild swing saw him divert George Friend's cross from the left inches wide of his own post, and the howls of derision played perfectly into Boro's hands.

Middlesbrough's Britt Assombalonga celebrates (Image: CameraSport)

If Reading was comfortable, the first-half at Hull was a procession - and the second goal followed on 36 minutes as Cyrus Christie's sensational cross from the right found Britt Assombalonga unmarked at the back post.

And the striker almost wore an embarrassed look as he headed the ball into the empty net with no Hull defender within sight. 'Is it really this easy?'

That was how the half ended, and the Boro players were serenaded off the pitch by their joyful fans - who've racked up more than 1,400 miles over the last seven days.

Rightly so, after an efficient first-half that raised one question. How many goals would Boro win by?

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A test of concentration & character

The Championship so often has a way of biting you when you least expect it, and that's surely the message that echoed around the Boro dressing room at half-time.

Hull were abject in the first-half and were always going to improve after the break - but could Boro - so comfortable for so long - keep their concentration and repel any second-half advances?

It was an emphatic response from Monk's players for the most part, as Boro looked to extend their unbeaten away run to six matches.

Boro's on-field leaders came to the fore. Ayala and Ben Gibson marshalled the defence - constantly on the lookout for any danger.

Middlesbrough's Jonny Howson (Image: CameraSport)

Grant Leadbitter and Jonny Howson flew into tackles, ate up the yards and kept the ball moving when in possession. Christie and Friend dropped deeper, while Stewart Downing and Marcus Tavernier were happy to retreat and ensure Boro remained compact.

And it was the visitors who had the best chances - Tavernier seeing a deflected shot whizz wide of the post, before Assombalonga and Downing both had shots charged down.

Ben Gibson then saw his back-post header pushed away - yet credit to the under-fire hosts, who hung in there and got their reward on 72 minutes.

Polish winger Kamil Grosicki was a thorn in Boro's side back in April as he ran the show for the Tigers, and it was he - introduced as a second-half substitute - who brought the memories pouring back with a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box which flew into the far corner.

Then came a big test for Boro, under the cosh for the first time as Leonid Slutsky's side poured forward in search for a quick-fire leveller.

Surely not?

The master from 12 yards

For a tense 11-minute spell, Boro had to dig deep - with Hull growing in belief that they could yet salvage a point from a game that should have been far out of their grasp.

But that hope was extinguished on 83 minutes as substitute Ashley Fletcher burst through on goal and was sent sprawling to the ground by the desperate Hector.

After consultation with his linesman, referee Robinson upgraded his initial yellow card to a red - and Hull's miserable evening was about to be completed.

Middlesbrough's Grant Leadbitter (Image: CameraSport)

It gave captain Leadbitter - the scorer of 15 of his 18 penalties for Boro before the game - the chance to seal the points and he duly obliged.

The 31-year-old has scored some vital spot-kicks for Boro down the years. The one at Wolves in 2015/16 lives long in the memory, so too in the home game against QPR in the same season.

And this one was another to add to the list on an evening when Boro motored towards the Championship top six.

Three big points, two away wins on the spin and one football club - dare we say it - who are starting to believe again.